Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime lord in a deadly chase that leaves Bennett's lifelong friend, Hughie McDonough, dead. From jail, the prisoner vows to rain epic violence down upon New York City - and to get revenge on Michael Bennett. To escape the chaos, Bennett takes his 10 kids and their beautiful nanny, Mary Catherine, on a much-needed vacation to his family's cabin near Newburgh, New York. But instead of the calm and happy town he remembers, they step into a nightmare.

Gone: Michael Bennett, Book 6

Manuel Perrine doesn't fear anyone or anything. A charismatic and ruthless leader, Perrine slaughters rivals as effortlessly as he wears his trademark white linen suit. Detective Michael Bennett once managed to put Perrine behind bars, the only official in the US ever to accomplish that. But now Perrine is out, and he has sworn to find and kill Bennett and everyone dear to him.

Tick Tock: Michael Bennett, Book 4

New York City's number-one detective, Michael Bennett, has a huge problem: the Son of Sam, the Werewolf of Wisteria, and the Mad Bomber are all back. The city has never been more terrified. The city calls on Detective Michael Bennett, pulling him away from a seaside retreat with his 10 adopted children, his grandfather, and their beloved nanny, Mary Catherine. Not only does it tear apart their vacation, it leaves the entire family open to attack.

One by one, children of New York's wealthiest are taken hostage. But the criminal doesn't crave money or power--he only wants to ask the elite if they know the price others pay for their luxurious lifestyles. And, if they don't, he corrects their ignorance - by killing them.

Run for Your Life

A calculating killer who calls himself The Teacher is taking on New York City, killing the powerful and the arrogant. His message is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences! For some, it seems that the rich are finally getting what they deserve. For New York's elite, it is a call to terror.

Only one man can tackle such a high-profile case: Detective Mike Bennett. The pressure is enough for anyone, but Mike also has to care for his ten children-all of whom have come down with virulent flu at once!

Discovering a secret pattern in The Teacher's lessons, Detective Bennett realizes he has just hours to save New York from the greatest disaster in its history.

Burn

At last, Detective Michael Bennett and his family are coming home to New York City. Thanks to Bennett, the ruthless crime lord whose vengeful mission forced the Bennett family into hiding has been brought down for good. Back in the city that never sleeps, Bennett takes over a chaotic Outreach Squad in Harlem, where he receives an unusual call: a man claims to have seen a group of well-dressed men holding a bizarre party in a condemend building...

Step on a Crack

NYPD Detective Michael Bennett is about to take on the most sinister challenge of his career. The nation has fallen into mourning after the unexpected death of a beloved former first lady, and the most powerful people in the world gather in New York for her funeral. Then the inconceivable occurs. Billionaires, politicians, and superstars of every kind are suddenly trapped within one man's brilliant and cold-blooded scenario.

14th Deadly Sin

With a beautiful baby daughter and a devoted husband, Detective Lindsay Boxer can safely say that her life has never been better. In fact (for a change), things seem to be going well for all the members of the Women's Murder Club as they gather to celebrate San Francisco Medical Examiner Claire Washburn's birthday. But the party is cut short when Lindsay is called to a gruesome crime scene, where a woman has been murdered in broad daylight.

NYPD Red 3

NYPD Red is the elite, highly trained task force assigned to protect the rich, the famous, and the connected. And Detective Zach Jordan and his partner, Kylie MacDonald - the woman who broke his heart at the police academy - are the best of the best, brilliant, and tireless investigators who will stop at nothing to deliver justice.

NYPD Red 2

When NYPD Red arrives at a crime scene, everyone takes notice. Known as the protectors of the rich, famous, and connected, NYPD Red is the elite task force called in only for New York City's most high-profile crimes. And Detective Zach Jordan is the best of the best, a brilliant and relentless pursuer of justice. He puts professionalism above all, ignoring his feelings for his partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald, the woman who broke his heart when they first met in the academy.

Private Games

Private, the world's most renowned investigation firm, has been commissioned to provide security for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Its agents are the smartest, fastest, and most technologically advanced in the world, and 400 of them have been transferred to London to protect more than 10,000 competitors who represent more than 200 countries. The opening ceremony is hours away when Private investigator and single father of twins, Peter Knight, is called to the scene of a ruthless murder: a high-ranking member of the games' organizing committee has been killed.

Private: #1 Suspect

Since former Marine Jack Morgan started Private, it has become the world's most effective investigation firm--sought out by the famous and the powerful to discreetly handle their most intimate problems. Private's investigators are the smartest, the fastest, and the most technologically advanced in the world--and they always uncover the truth.

Truth or Die

After a serious professional stumble, attorney Trevor Mann may have finally hit his stride. He's found happiness with his girlfriend, Claire Parker, a beautiful, ambitious journalist always on the hunt for a scoop. But when Claire's newest story leads to a violent confrontation, Trevor's newly peaceful life is shattered as he tries to find out why.

NYPD Red

It's the start of Hollywood on Hudson, and New York City is swept up in the glamour. Every night, the red carpet rolls out for movie stars arriving at premieres in limos; the most exclusive restaurants close for private parties for wealthy producers and preeminent directors; and thousands of fans gather with the paparazzi, hoping to catch a glimpse of the most famous and beautiful faces in the world. With this many celebrities in town, special task force NYPD Red is on high alert - and they can't afford to make a single mistake.

Ann M. Lambert says:"one of the best, if not the best audio books ever"

Alert

New Yorkers aren't easily intimidated, but someone is doing their best to scare them badly. Why? After two inexplicable high-tech attacks, the city that never sleeps is on edge. Detective Michael Bennett, along with his old pal, the FBI's Emily Parker, have to catch the shadowy criminals who claim responsibility - but they're as good at concealing their identities as they are at wreaking havoc.

Private London

For Hannah Shapiro, a beautiful young American student, this particular nightmare began eight years ago in Los Angeles, when Jack Morgan, owner of Private--the world's most exclusive detective agency--saved her from a horrific death. She has fled her country, but can't flee her past. The terror has followed her to London, and now it is down to former Royal Military Police Sergeant Dan Carter, head of Private London, to save her all over again.

Private Vegas

Las Vegas is a city of contradictions: seedy and glamorous, secretive and wild, Vegas attracts people of all kinds - especially those with a secret to hide, or a life to leave behind. It's the perfect location for Lester Olsen's lucrative business. He gets to treat gorgeous, young women to five-star restaurants, splashy shows, and limo rides - and then he teaches them how to kill. Private Jack Morgan spends most of his time in Los Angeles, where his top investigation firm has its headquarters.

Private L.A.

Thom and Jennifer Harlow are the perfect couple, with three perfect children. They maybe two of the biggest mega movie stars in the world, but they're also great parents, philanthropists, and just all-around good people. When they disappear without a word from their ranch, facts are hard to find. They live behind such a high wall of security and image control that even world-renowned Private Investigator Jack Morgan can't get to the truth.

Private Down Under

With the best detectives in the business, cutting-edge technology, and offices around the globe, there is no investigation company quite like Private. Now, at a glittering launch party overlooking the iconic Opera House, Private Sydney throws open its doors. Craig Gisto and his newly formed team have barely raised their glasses, however, when a young Asian man, blood-soaked and bullet-ridden, staggers into the party, and what looks like a botched kidnapping turns out to be a whole lot more.

Invisible

Everyone thinks Emmy Dockery is crazy. Obsessed with finding the link between hundreds of unsolved cases, Emmy has taken leave from her job as an FBI researcher. Now all she has are the newspaper clippings that wallpaper her bedroom, and her recurring nightmares of an all-consuming fire. Not even Emmy's ex-boyfriend, field agent Harrison "Books" Bookman, will believe her that hundreds of kidnappings, rapes, and murders are all connected.

Private Berlin

Chris Schneider is a superstar agent at Private Berlin, Germany headquarters for the world's most powerful investigation firm. He keeps his methods secret as he tackles Private's most high-profile cases - and when Chris suddenly disappears, he becomes Private Berlin's most dangerous investigation yet. Mattie Engel is another top agent at Private Berlin, gorgeous and ruthlessly determined - and she's also Chris's ex. Mattie throws herself headfirst into finding Chris, following leads to the three people Chris was investigating when he vanished....

Private

Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily - and his staff of investigators uses the world's most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.

Private India: City on Fire

When Jack Morgan opens the Mumbai branch of Private, the world's most elite detective agency, he hands the reins to top agent Santosh Wagh. Now, in this teeming metropolis of over 13 million people where the guilty have everywhere to hide, Santosh goes on the hunt for one elusive killer. A killer who is targeting seemingly unconnected women and placing strange objects at their death scenes in a series of chilling rituals.

Hope to Die

Detective Alex Cross is being stalked by a psychotic genius, forced to play the deadliest game of his career. Cross' family - his loving wife Bree, the wise and lively Nana Mama, and his precious children - have been ripped away. Terrified and desperate, Cross must give this mad man what he wants if he has any chance of saving the most important people in his life. The stakes have never been higher: What will Cross sacrifice to save the ones he loves?

11th Hour: Women's Murder Club, Book 11

Lindsay Boxer is pregnant at last! But her work doesn't slow for a second. When millionaire Chaz Smith is mercilessly gunned down, she discovers that the murder weapon is linked to the deaths of four of San Francisco's most untouchable criminals. And it was taken from her own department's evidence locker. Anyone could be the killer - even her closest friends. Lindsay is called next to the most bizarre crime scene she's ever seen: two bodiless heads elaborately displayed in the garden of a world-famous actor....

Publisher's Summary

Police officers shot

Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime lord in a deadly chase that leaves Bennett's lifelong friend, Hughie McDonough, dead. From jail, the prisoner vows to rain epic violence down upon New York City - and to get revenge on Michael Bennett.

Judges murdered

To escape the chaos, Bennett takes his 10 kids and their beautiful nanny, Mary Catherine, on a much-needed vacation to his family's cabin near Newburgh, New York. But instead of the calm and happy town he remembers from growing up, they step into a nightmare worse than they could have ever imagined. Newburgh is an inferno of warring gangs, and there's little the police - or Bennett - can do to keep the children safe.

Target: Michael Bennett

As violence overwhelms the state, Bennett is torn between protecting his hometown and saving New York City. A partner in his investigations, federal prosecutor Tara McLellan brings him new weapons for the battle - and an attraction that endangers his relationship with Mary Catherine.

A no-holds-barred, pedal-to-the-floor, action-packed novel, Michael Bennett is James Patterson at his most personal and most thrilling best.

Would you try another book from James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge and/or Bobby Cannavale and Jay Snyder ?

Yes, loved all the others, this one was just weak, made detectives seem clueless. Felt like I was watching a clueless character in an bad 1980's horror film. The story line was great but the good guys just made way too many mistakes. And then the book just stopped.

What could James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

First, the title had nothing to do with the story. No relevance. The story itself was a better than average one, but only gets one star because of the "ending"...seriously guys? I can't recommend this one, although I enjoy the Michael Bennett series, because there were too many dangling story lines, and they neglected to finish the book. I thought that my ipod had misfired. If this is a set-up for the next in the series, it's really a cheap way to sell a book.

Has I, Michael Bennett turned you off from other books in this genre?

In the series, yes.

Did Bobby Cannavale and Jay Snyder do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Love the Michael Bennett character and relationships, but the story line in this one was just way too wild. And the non-ending didn't leave me anxiously waiting for the next half-written book by him and/or his "collaborators", it ticked me off.

Not only is this a lazy and predictable storyline but it leaves the reader feeling cheated. The climax? What climax. A cynical summer book from a big brand author to keep the factory going. When will I learn...

Michael Bennett is asked to lead the capture of a drug lord who is in New York for a very special event. The plans to capture him quickly change. Michael Bennett is in a bad place with this drug lord's very unique forms of terror that he unleashes on the police.

Some very interesting things happen in this book that will surprise and certainly not delight. While Michael Bennett always keeps the book from going 'too dark', this is a very dark book and I believe the best Michael Bennett so far.

The narration is perfect, the characters are well developed and the family is still front and center, each playing a unique role in the plot.

I have no idea why the book's tagline is "Move Over Alex Cross" but will ignore that since it was so well done.

If you want to listen to a book that ends with no resolution then this is the book for you.

If you want to listen to a book that actually has a resolution and you aren't left hanging at the end then don't buy this book. It was a great story until the end when it stopped. Seriously doesn't James Patterson have enough money (he writes and co-writes so many books I can't count them)? Instead he leaves this book (in my opinion) in the middle. This book could have been so good if he finished it and resolved the final showdown instead of waiting and making people buy another one to see what happens to Michael Bennett. I for one am done with James Patterson.

I am a huge fan of James Patterson. The Alex Cross novels for the most part. I went ahead and jumped head first into the Michael Bennett series b/c there were only 5 total so I know i could afford to read them all and I would be able to start from the beginning. They started a bit slow for me but have completely turned around. This book was excellent!!! And you wont be able to guess how it ends which is cool.

Bennett gets knocked around. His family becomes endangered. He flirts with another officer or agent. His Nannie gets irritated. And to top it all off, this one leaves us with a psychopath still on the loose and out to get Bennett.

A minor irritant, but the author refers to wines, literature, hotels, food and over the top clothing as if cops and other average people can relate to these things and their astronomic prices. Reminds me of the nouveau riche trying to impress people with their new found ability to afford the excesses. Falls in the category of sophomoric writing where one's sleeve gets in the way as one writes due to the writer wearing everything on his or her sleeve.

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